As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Certain information handling systems utilize wireless communications to communicate with each other. In addition, certain information handling systems, such as desktop and portable computer systems, utilize wireless personal area network (WPAN) communications to interface with portable devices and peripherals, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular telephones, printers and other devices. Typically, a WPAN is used for short range wireless communications generally in single digit meters of range and usually intra-room. In contrast, WiFi communications or wireless LAN (local area network) communications are typically used for longer range wireless communications generally in double digit meters of range and often inter-room. Blue Tooth (BT) is an example communication protocol and interface standard that is in use today for short range WPAN device communications. In addition, devices have used direct wired connections, for example, through USB (universal serial buss) connections, to allow for communications between personal electronic devices and desktop/portable computer systems. These wireless and/or wired communications, for example, can allow PDAs to synchronize with software applications running on desktop and/or portable computer systems.
Ultra-wideband (UWB) is currently being considered as an alternative to other short range communication protocols, such as Blue Tooth, and direct cable communications, such as through USB connections. Ultra-wideband (UWB) is typically used to refer to a wireless communications technology that can currently transmit data at speeds between about 40 to 60 megabits per second and possibly up to 1 gigabit per second and beyond. UWB devices are typically configured to transmit ultra-low power radio signals with very short electrical pulses, often in the picosecond ( 1/1000th of a nanosecond) range, across a very wide range of frequencies at once. UWB receivers must translate these short bursts of noise into data by listening for a familiar pulse sequence sent by the transmitter. Because of its low power requirements, UWB is very difficult to detect and therefore difficult to regulate. Because it spans the entire frequency spectrum (licensed and unlicensed), it can be used indoors and underground and is a promising technology for wireless communications. UWB is also advantageous because it offers very low interference with traditional wireless technologies (e.g., WiFi, BT, etc.). A UWB device, as used herein, includes any information handling system that is capable of communicating through UWB communications.
Security is one significant concern with respect to such wireless communications. It is not only desirable for the communications to be secured in some fashion, but it is also desirable for the identity of the devices themselves to be verifiable. In other words, before a secure communication link is established, the communicating devices preferably have a secure mechanism to verify the identity of the device to which it will be communicating. Secure device pairing is one method for making sure device identities are verified in a secure manner prior to opening a communication link.
Secure device paring involves creating a strong shared secret known only to each entity in the pair. The strong shared secret (key) is used to create confidentiality over the pairing channel. Currently, publicly available protocols are available to meet this requirement. For example, known Diffie-Hellman (DH) key exchange protocols and/or modified DH key exchange protocols can be utilized to create a strong shared secret for the pairing. One modified DH key exchange protocol involves key mixing in an effort to mitigate the known man-in-the-middle weakness of stock DH key exchanges. Example DH protocol information can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,770, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The emergence of high speed, high bandwidth UWB as a WPAN cable replacement technology presents the challenge of allowing for secure peripheral device pairing and authentication without adding undue complexity and cost. As stated above, secured pairing allows one or both of the devices to have one or more pairing secrets that can be used to confirm the identity of the other device. One method currently proposed by the UWB development industry requires initial configuration using a physically connected cable for secure pairing of the two devices. Once the trusted devices have generated pairing secrets through the physical link, the devices transition to operation over a wireless UWB link. Another proposed technique for UWB secure device pairing includes the addition of near-field communication radios (NFCs) within the devices that can be used for the secure pairing before handing off the devices to communicate over a UWB transport link. A further proposed technique for UWB secure device pairing includes the use of graphical depictions of numerical codes on each device that must be verified and confirmed to match by a user through graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of the devices. These approaches (physical link, NFC radio, visual match confirmation) add unnecessary cost and redundant complexity to secure pairing of UWB capable wireless devices.